R110 - AGRISPON GERMINATION STUDIES ... - Agrisciences.com

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Tribute Tall Fescue [Festuca rubra L., cv. Tribute] Jamestown II Chewings Fescue [Festuca rubra var. cummufata Guad., cv. Jamestown II] Reliant Hard Fescue [Festuca rubra L., cv. Reliant] Penncross Creeping Bentgrass [Agrostis palustris Huds., cv. Penncross] Southshore Creeping Bentgrass [Agrostis palustris Huds., cv. Southshore] Three different soils were used in this study, two being Fir silly clay looms and one an artificial golf green mix of 80% sand and 20% peat moss. The chemical analyses and textural determinations of these three soils are presented in Table 1. All three soils were high in calcium, but reasonable in the levels of magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Potassium was very low in the golf green mix. Organic matter levels were quite low, but nitrogen was reasonably high despite the low organic matter levels. Sulfur was very low in all three soils. Copper and boron were both deficient in all three soils, and iron and zinc as well in the golf green mix. However, none of the deficiencies were serious enough to prevent reasonably good growth for all treatments over the duration of the study. Table 1. Soil test values for potting soil in a grass germination study. 16 Frio silty clay loam Parameter Soil 1 Soil 2 Golf green mix Total exchange capacity, meq/100 g 20.54 18.40 12.17 pH 8.1 7.8 8.2 Organic matter, % 1.5 2.0 1.5 N, lb./acre 50 60 50 Sulfate, as S, lb./acre 12 12 16 P 2 O 5 , lb./acre 344 388 44 Ca (exch.), lb./acre 6,487 5,533 4,110 Mg (exch.), lb./acre 608 636 306 K (exch.), lb./acre 813 904 46 Na (exch.), lb./acre 32 44 77 Percent base saturations: Ca 79.0 75.2 84.4 Mg 12.3 14.4 10.5 K 5.1 6.3 0.5 Na 0.3 0.5 1.4 Other bases 3.3 3.6 3.2 B, ppm 0.40 0.39 0.10 Fe, ppm 73 139 3 n, ppm 160 250 23 Cu, ppm 0.3 0.6 0.2 Zn, ppm 2.3 4.4 1.1 Texture: Sand 59.3% 61.3% 98.6% Silt 29.3% 25.3% 0 Clay 11.4% 13.4% 1.4% Five pots for each variety were lined up in rows and filled with soil. All of the bluegrass and ryegrass varieties, plus Aztec and Adobe Tall Fescue, received the Frio silty clay loam-1 soil, while all the rest of the varieties of fescue, bermudagrass, trivialis, and zoysia received Frio silty clay loam-2 soil. The creeping bentgrass varieties were seeded on the 80% sand-20% peat moss mix to simulate an actual golf green soil. Plastic pots measuring 18 cm in diameter by 9 cm in height were prepared for the study. Treatments were as follows (Table 2). 3
Table 2. Agrispon treatments for an Agrispon golf course grass germination study. Treatment Application Actual product 1 Field rate 2 A 0 0 0 B 0.01% 0.000724 ml/pot 0.285 l/ha C 0.1% 0.00724 ml/pot 2.85 l/ha D 1% 0.0724 ml/pot 28.5 l/ha E 10% 0.724 ml/pot 285 l/ha 1 Soil volume per pot = 2,035 cm 3 . 2 Pot surface area = 254 cm 2 . One variety out of each genus of grass was selected to be replicated four times. With these varieties, four rows of five pots each were prepared, using the same product additions as for the other varieties (Table 2), to enable a statistical analysis to be performed on the data. The varieties selected for the replicated studies were Ram I Kentucky Bluegrass, Yorktown III Perennial Ryegrass, Reliant Hard Fescue, Southshore Creeping Bentgrass, Cheyenne Bermudagrass, Cypress Poa Trivialis, and Sunrise Seeded Zoysia Japonica. After filling the pots with the appropriate soil, the soil was thoroughly wetted. Each pot received a small plastic tag with an identifying code. Then precise amounts of seeds were sprinkled evenly over the wet soil of each pot. All of the bluegrass, ryegrass, and fescue varieties received exactly one level teaspoon of seed, while the bentgrass, bermudagrass, Poa trivialis, and zoysia grass varieties received 0.5 level teaspoon. Then soil was evenly scattered over the seeds in a uniform covering, and a light mist of water was applied to wet any remaining dry soil. Agrispon was sprayed over each pot at the appropriate dilutions with a hand-operated mist bottle. Seven shots of spray (7.24 ml of total solution) covered the entire soil surface uniformly, giving the rates indicated in Table 2. Care was taken not to allow any spray to drift to other pots. Seeding and treatment operations were <strong>com</strong>pleted October 6. The pots were watered periodically as needed. Notes and photographs were taken on a regular basis to record differences between and within varieties and treatments. Because of a serious fungal attack on the finer-bladed grass varieties, especially the Kentucky bluegrass, creeping bentgrass, bermudagrass, and Poa trivialis, an estimate was made of the final plant stand for all pots in the study. These estimates proved particularly valuable in adjusting obtained dry weights to more closely approximate the true projected pot plant weight had not the fungal attack been present. The attack was so severe in some varieties that the pots had to be discarded. When the particular grass variety had reached sufficient size (from October 31 to November 11, depending on the variety), the soil and grass were removed and the soil was carefully washed from the roots with a pressurized hose. Care was taken to remove all soil and other residues adhering to the roots. Certain root masses were photographed. The washed roots and leaves were placed in a food dehydrator and dried at 135 ° F for several hours to <strong>com</strong>plete dryness, and then placed in airtight plastic containers along with the identifying tags. Later, the dry plant samples were weighed on a digital balance to the nearest 0.1 gram. Statistical analyses of these weights for the replicated samples, and for varieties within the same genera, were performed using analyses of variance as described by Steel and Torrie. 16 Results and Discussion Because of excessively cool and humid conditions in the greenhouse, a fungus severely attacked the leaves as well as the roots of many varieties of grass, especially those with fine leaf blades. Several had to be abandoned. There seemed to be no preference of the fungus for any particular treatment, which decimated up to 80% of the plants in a particular pot. The abandoned varieties were as follows: 4
Page 1 and 2: AGRISPON GERMINATION STUDIES WITH G
Page 3: 1. In all cases, Agrispon at all di
Page 7 and 8: The initial dry weights of each sam
Page 9 and 10: Perennial Ryegrass Table 6. ANOVA o
Page 11 and 12: Table 9. ANOVA of Reliant Hard Fesc
Page 13 and 14: Dry plant mass, g 20 15 10 5 12.48
Page 15 and 16: Without replications there is some
Page 17 and 18: The variability in response of diff
Page 19 and 20: A PHOTOGRAPHIC SUMMARY OF AN AGRISP
Page 21 and 22: By October 17, Arid Tall Fescue had
Page 23 and 24: At harvest on November 4, note how
Page 25 and 26: Ovation Perennial Ryegrass produced

R110 - AGRISPON GERMINATION STUDIES ... - Agrisciences.com

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